Why in News?

• Even though there has been a concerted push from policymakers in India to transition to a circular economy, waste management in the solar photovoltaic sector still lacks clear directives.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• What is Photovoltaic Waste?
• What are the Challenges India faces in Photovoltaic waste Management?
• How have other Countries Responded?
• What are the Recent Initiatives of the Indian Government to Reduce Photovoltaic wastes?
• What is the Way ahead in India’s Photovoltaic waste management?

What is Photovoltaic Waste?

• Globally, India stands fourth in solar photovoltaic deployment, with a solar power installed capacity of nearly 62 GW by 2022.
  • India’s solar photovoltaic installations are dominated by crystalline silicon (c-Si) technology.
  • A typical photovoltaic panel is made up of 93% of c-Si modules and 7% of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film modules.
  • The metals used to manufacture c-Si modules are silver, tin, and lead. The CdTe thin film module is made of glass, encapsulant, and compound semiconductor.
• While this is certainly encouraging, it indicates a serious issue of solar photovoltaic waste in future.
• According to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, India could generate 50,000-3,25,000 tonnes of cumulative photovoltaic waste by 2030 and more than 4 million tonnes by 2050.
  • India is expected to become one of the top five leading photovoltaic waste producers globally by 2045-2050.
• According to a 2021 report, approximately 50% of total materials can be recovered through such waste management and recycling processes.

 What are the Challenges India faces in Photovoltaic waste Management?

• The growing informal handling: Only about 20% of the waste is recovered in general, the rest is treated informally.
• Waste accumulation at landfills: This in turn causes acidification, leaching of toxic metals (such as lead and cadmium) into the soil, and contaminates the local water.
• Leading to pollution: Gradual incineration of the panel encapsulant also releases sulphur dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, and hydrogen cyanide into the atmosphere.
• Ignorance of appropriate disposal practices: Among multiple actors and institutions across the supply chain, including producers, owners, consumers, and waste disposal facilities.
• Small market to repurpose or reuse recycled photovoltaic waste: This is because of a lack of suitable incentives and schemes in which businesses can invest.
• The absence of a regulatory body: To measure, monitor, and report solar photovoltaic waste.

 How have other Countries Responded?

• The European Union’s ‘Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive’ makes producers responsible for safely and responsibly disposing of end-of-life photovoltaic panels.
• In the U.S., states have the freedom to establish their own solar photovoltaic regulatory standards.
• Manufacturers in Japan are responsible for developing environment-friendly recycling technologies through public-private partnerships and launching awareness campaigns about their benefits.
• China has introduced an implementation plan for life-cycle management and to improve the resource efficiency of solar photovoltaic panels.
  • Chinese researchers are also developing recycling processes to recover silicon from end-of-life panels and process them back into solar wafers.

 What are the Recent Initiatives of the Indian Government to Reduce Photovoltaic wastes?

• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change’s revised electronic waste (e-waste) management Rules in 2022 brought solar photovoltaic cells, panels, and modules under its ambit.
• The Green Credit Programme under the Environmental Protection Act 1986, announced in the 2022-2023 Union Budget, aimed to promote green growth and sustainable practices.
• The latest production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme promotes the domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic modules.

 Way ahead in India’s Photovoltaic waste management

• Avoiding clubbing of photovoltaic waste with other e-waste: India should formulate and implement provisions specific to photovoltaic waste treatment within the ambit of the e-waste guidelines.
• A legislative framework to enforce the Extended Producer Responsibility Rules.
• A Central insurance or a regulatory body should be set up to protect against financial losses incurred in waste collection and treatment.
• To give away the practice of classifying waste generated from photovoltaic modules as hazardous.
• Pan-India sensitisation drives and awareness programmes on photovoltaic waste management and clear recycling targets in the photovoltaic waste management policy directive are needed.
• Paying more attention to domestic R&D efforts. Depending on a single module type will deplete certain natural resources and stunt the local capacity for recycling and recovery of critical materials.
• The methods/best practices of other countries could be a good reference point for India to develop ‘Made in India’ manufacturing capabilities, recycling technologies, and waste management strategies in this field.